Affordable Housing

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING

HILLSIDE DISTRICT — Increased affordable housing, city beautification and development of blighted areas and urban centers are among the Community Development Department's goals in the coming year, officials revealed at a meeting Thursday. The department's efforts have already brightened the aesthetic and economic climate of the city, often in partnership with business-improvement districts — coalitions of businesses that agree to a pay a tax to fund improvements, said Ruth Davidson-Guerra, assistant community-development director.

Recycling article a help to residents I read the article Saturday in the Burbank Leader about the recycling center ("Council talks trash, recycling"). It was very interesting and helpful. I know that a lot of people are confused about what kinds of items are accepted at the center and thought that may be a good follow-up to this article. I know the city sends something every year in the mail, but I know from talking to other people/parents that they are still confused about what plastics can go in especially.

Regarding your May 10 question, "What do you think the top priorities in the city should be in the coming year?": If you're asking what the most prominent issues facing Burbank are, be prepared for a long list. Primarily, I'd say you're looking at three big problems, things that affect all of us in this city. The first is affordable housing. I think we can all agree there isn't any in Burbank. The so-called affordable housing arrangements some members of our City Council have arranged with developers are laughable.

BURBANK ? The City Council gave the green light on Tuesday night to an affordable housing project that would rehabilitate 10 units in the South San Fernando District. The Burbank Redevelopment Agency, in collaboration with the Burbank Housing Corp., will renovate three properties ? at 157 and 159 W. Linden Ave., and 160 Elm Court ? then make them available strictly to low-income renters, said Judith Arandes, executive director of the Burbank Housing Corp. To begin renovations, the Burbank Redevelopment Agency has hired a firm to relocate the nine families who live in the existing units, Arandes said.

BURBANK ? Rep. Adam Schiff and other state and local officials joined more than 100 others in Burbank on Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, inaugurating an affordable housing complex specially designed for tenants with developmental disabilities. "We all know how difficult it is to find a home in this community," said Schiff, whose district includes Burbank. "It's even more difficult when you're disabled. To make the miracle of a home possible for so many people is a tremendous contribution."

BURBANK ? In an effort to promote affordable housing in an expensive property market, city staffers have provided the City Council with two proposed ordinances to encourage developers to construct affordable housing. With the approval Tuesday of the two ordinances for a second reading, Burbank could see more affordable housing in as little as two years, said Joy Forbes, a Community Development Department planner. The first proposal, called the inclusionary housing ordinance, would apply only to developers building five or more units within one project.

BURBANK ? A fight to preserve 12 units of housing along Hollywood Way spilled into City Council chambers Tuesday night, as opponents rallied against a proposal that the council may be powerless to stop. The project would remove a two-story, 12-unit housing complex to make room for a 35-unit, three-story multifamily housing complex. Many residents object to the plan, saying trading a two-story for a three-story complex would alter the character of the neighborhood and increase population density.

q1Candidates in special City Council election tackle issues of growth, traffic and housing in League of Women Voters debate.DOWNTOWN BURBANK -- Reducing traffic congestion, creating affordable housing and protecting the city's neighborhoods were among the topics raised Thursday night during a debate of City Council candidate's running in next month's special election. Defining smart growth and how to achieve it was also a hot topic during the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Burbank/Glendale.